Don't Take It Personally

Album: I Said I Love You First (2025)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Don't Take It Personally" is a song about jealousy, acceptance, and the general awkwardness of human relationships. Selena Gomez gently addresses a female friend of her romantic partner, Benny Blanco, who is struggling with the shifting dynamics (and may have, just possibly, been harboring some not-so-secret feelings).
  • Gomez said "Don't Take It Personally" is based on a real experience where she was the one on the receiving end of such a conversation. "This song, we put together in a way where it was actually told to me," she explained in the album's official commentary. "This is odd to say, but yes, I'm the person that it happened to."
  • Of course, given Selena's high profile on-and-off romance with Justin Bieber between 2010 and 2018, speculation ran wild the song is about Hailey Bieber (because, well, everything Selena does apparently has to be connected to the Biebs in some way). However, she has not confirmed this, and the lyrics are open-ended enough to let listeners apply their own experiences.
  • On the production side, Benny Blanco teamed up with Californian hitmaker Blake Slatkin (The Kid Laroi's "Stay" and Sam Smith's "Unholy").
  • This song is just one piece of a larger project, I Said I Love You First, a collaborative album between Gomez and Blanco that reflects their romantic evolution. The two, who began as friends, started dating in the summer of 2023 and got engaged at the end of the following year.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Bible Lyrics

Bible LyricsMusic Quiz

Rockers, rappers and pop stars have been known to quote the Bible in their songs. See if you match the artist to the biblical lyric.

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal Tap

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal TapSong Writing

Based on criteria like girlfriend tension, stage mishaps and drummer turnover, these are the 10 bands most like Spinal Tap.

Is That Song Public Domain?

Is That Song Public Domain?Fact or Fiction

Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?

Peter Lord

Peter LordSongwriter Interviews

You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.